Letters to the Editor

Judging the American Kennel Club

February 16, 2013

To the Sports Editor:

Re “Safety Concerns Stoke Criticism of Kennel Club,” Feb. 10: This article paints a misleading picture of the American Kennel Club’s efforts to support responsible dog breeding and its good relationships with law enforcement and others who care about animal welfare.

In the mid-1990s, the American Kennel Club voluntarily instituted a breeder inspection program. Since 2000, the A.K.C. has conducted more than 55,000 inspections; as a result, hundreds of substandard breeders no longer register their litters with the club.

Less than 5 percent of the A.K.C.’s total revenue comes from commercial breeders. Choosing to conduct inspections costs $1.5 million annually, and while not in the club’s best financial interest, it’s a crucial safeguard for dogs’ health and well-being.

The A.K.C. is not a law enforcement agency. However, if we discover substandard conditions, we immediately report them to local officials.

DENNIS SPRUNG

New York

The writer is the president and chief executive of the American Kennel Club.

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To the Sports Editor:

As the owner of a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, I can tell you that registration with the American Kennel Club means nothing regarding the health and care of the dog. I was a first-time dog owner, and when I researched the breed over seven years ago, I found the A.K.C. breeding rules laughable.

It was the individual breed’s societies and clubs, including the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, that established a breeding criteria that was safe for the dogs and future owners. This became apparent quickly in my search, and any new owner should be aware of it. Every breed has a club, and the registered breeders have strict rules that the A.K.C. would be smart to adapt and enforce.

STACEY MANKOFF

New York

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To the Sports Editor:

In addition to opposing legislation that would save or improve dogs’ lives and inadequately inspecting licensed breeders, the American Kennel Club issues standards that require many breeds to have their ears and tails cut off. The American Veterinary Medical Association states that these mutilations cause pain and distress and do not benefit dogs. What’s more, inherited problems like cancer, heart defects, epilepsy and crippling hip dysplasia are rampant in purebred dogs because of inbreeding and breeding for distorted physical features.

Perhaps worst of all, the A.K.C. encourages breeders to produce more puppies while hundreds of thousands of loving dogs, including purebreds, are euthanized every year for lack of good homes.

LINDSAy POLLARD-POST

Holland, Mich.

Another Fallen Hero

To the Sports Editor:

Re “A Nation Reels as a Star Runner Is Charged in Girlfriend’s Death,” Feb. 15: Oscar Pistorius fought battles with his physical imperfections and also with a system that compelled him to prove that having no legs below the knees had not somehow provided him an unfair edge.

He is but the latest to demonstrate that life’s difficulties can intrude on each of us. Hero worship, at least on the athletic field, has never seemed more irrelevant.

I grieve for what appears to be yet another victim of gun violence, and another fable that has been taken from us.